‘Gay’ juggernaut seeks to crush Scottish archbishop

“This is genuinely very upsetting and painful for David’s family and friends. I can’t believe that someone who claims to be a man of God and is seeking to give moral leadership should speak from such a position of ignorance… I don’t care what his views on gay marriage are, but to bring in my dead partner to justify those views is wrong… it is great pity that the bishop adds to their distress, for no other reason than his own ignorance.” – Partner of deceased MP David Cairns.

You get the general idea. Of the four sentences above, the first is undoubtedly accurate. Then again, one may wonder why the personal feelings of those involved should entitle them to shut down public discussion on a very serious issue involving public health and morality.

The claim that concerns about health risks being involved in the “gay” lifestyle are “ignorant” is quite simply wrong. There is a massive body of well-documented evidence that homosexual practices are hazardous, and for just one such example see the link “Health Risks of the Homosexual Lifestyle” at the foot of this post.

It is inevitable that reference to these risks will be brought into public debate by leaders such as “a man of God”, and enhancing public awareness of such risks falls well within the parameters of their responsibilities to their parishioners, in my opinion.

The third sentence implies that it is not permitted to identify specific individuals even when it is felt that their premature death may be illustrative of the concerns in question. The defensive nature of this comment is more a reflection of personal grief than a valid criticism; it is understandable, but of no practical value in the overview.

The fourth sentence merely reprises the first three, and appears to have been crafted for emotional propaganda value rather than as genuine criticism.

Further on in the article below, we are told that “Your public assertion that David’s illness might in some way be connected to his sexuality and lifestyle was not only unsupported by any evidence, but was, I fear, unworthy of your position as a leader in the Church.” This statement, included by MP Tom Harris in a letter to the archbishop, is particularly telling.

The words “assert” and “might” are, to my mind, mutually exclusive. An assertion is “something declared or stated positively, often with no support or attempt at proof” according to the Online Dictionary. The word “might” simply indicates a possibility. Once again, we have the implication that there is no evidence to support the claim that the “gay” lifestyle is unhealthy.

The statement attributed to the then-bishop that “Recently in Scotland there was a gay Catholic MP who died at the age of 44 or so, and nobody said anything, and why his body should just shut down at that age? Obviously he could have had a disease that would have killed anybody. But you seem to hear so many stories about this kind of thing, but society won’t address it” is clearly speculative, and recognises the possibility that the death was not lifestyle-related.

There is more than adequate reason to believe that the “gay” lifestyle is unhealthy. Quite apart from the danger of AIDS, “gays” and lesbians run far greater risks of acquiring debilitating sexually transmitted diseases due to increased promiscuity, and have a dramatically shorter life expectancy.

Of course, not all “gays” are promiscuous, and settle at some point into stable, long-term relationships, but they would appear to be the exception rather than the rule.

It seems that MP David Cairns did not die of any complications arising exclusively from his homosexuality, as acute pancreatitis is not associated with the lifestyle. But we don’t know that for sure, and the precise cause of his particular death does not in any way alter the underlying risks of the lifestyle in general.

The fact that Cairns had been a high-profile politician (Minister of State at the Scotland Office) makes him a legitimate illustrative example, and there is an inherent loss of privacy involved in holding public office which continues after death.

In my opinion, the uproar over the bishop’s comments was predictable, coming as it does from a special-interest group that aggressively demands approval from society, and will not tolerate any criticism whatsoever in its search for enforced legitimacy.

The desire to shut-down debate of the homosexual lifestyle poses a severe threat to the free speech and religious rights of everybody else. And as the now-archbishop says, “If you defend the traditional marriage, that’s almost considered homophobic hate-speak… I could see myself going to jail, if, at some point in the next 15 years, I speak out.”

His concern that legalisation of same-sex “marriages” could result in prosecution for criticising homosexuality are well-founded, in my opinion. It is already dangerous to criticise homosexuality in Britain.

Up until some forty years ago, engaging in homosexual practices was illegal throughout the Western world. In the early 1970s it is as if someone flipped a switch, and all of a sudden homosexuality began disappearing from medical textbooks, where it had been listed as a mental disorder.

Then, politicians and the media began to tout it as a valid alternative to traditional, heterosexual marriage with a husband, wife, and children.

And it was also around forty years ago that the immigration floodgates were opened, law-and-order and religion came under attack, and our schools began to churn out lazy semi-literates with an excellent awareness of their “rights”, but little grasp of the concept of “responsibility.”

And if you want to know why, read Dr. Kevin MacDonald’s excellent book “Culture of Critique”, reference below. There is indeed a reason for all this.

Jeff Goodall.

Glasgow’s archbishop-elect links MP’s death to gay lifestyle

The Scotsman
Tom Peterkin
July 25th, 2012

THE new Archbishop of Glasgow has appeared to link the premature death of an MP to the politician’s homosexuality, prompting a furious row.

Philip Tartaglia’s suggestion prompted criticism from friends and the partner of the late David Cairns, a former priest, who claimed the Catholic leader had suggested the politician’s death at the age of 44 was somehow connected to his sexual orientation.

The row came on the day that Pope Benedict XVI appointed the cleric, who has been Bishop of Paisley since 2005, as Archbishop-elect of Glasgow.

In remarks made when he spoke on religious freedom and equality at a conference at Oxford University in April, but which have only just come to light, the then Bishop of Paisley referred to Mr Cairns in response to a member of the audience who spoke about a gay author in the United States, who had committed suicide.

“If what I have heard is true about the relationship between the physical and mental health of gay men, if it is true, then society is being very quiet about it,” the archbishop-elect, 61, said.

“Recently in Scotland there was a gay Catholic MP who died at the age of 44 or so, and nobody said anything, and why his body should just shut down at that age? Obviously he could have had a disease that would have killed anybody. But you seem to hear so many stories about this kind of thing, but society won’t address it.”

His comments were made at Magdalene College, Oxford, at an event held in conjunction with Georgetown University’s Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

His address was videoed and put on the internet, but it was not until yesterday that Mr Cairns’s friends and family became aware of its contents.

Although the archbishop-elect did not mention Mr Cairns by name, there was no doubt among his friends and colleagues that Bishop Tartaglia was referring to the late Labour politician. Mr Cairns was a highly respected MP, a government minister and a devout Catholic. He had the distinction of being the first former Catholic priest to sit in parliament.

The Inverclyde MP died in May last year, reportedly of acute pancreatitis.

Last night Mr Cairns’s partner, Dermot Kehoe, who was in a relationship with the late MP for almost 15 years, said: “This is genuinely very upsetting and painful for David’s family and friends. I can’t believe that someone who claims to be a man of God and is seeking to give moral leadership should speak from such a position of ignorance.

“I don’t care what his views on gay marriage are, but to bring in my dead partner to justify those views is wrong.”

Mr Cairns’s good friend Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South, said: “I will certainly be writing to the bishop today. Clearly, the bishop is entirely ignorant of David’s life and death.

“It is a great pity that someone in such authority is coming out with such ill-informed tripe. David’s friends and family have been through an awful lot in the last year and it is great pity that the bishop adds to their distress, for no other reason than his own ignorance.”

In his letter, Mr Harris told the archbishop-elect his comments were “hurtful and ill-informed”.

The Glasgow South MP’s letter continued: “I was privileged to be one of David’s closest friends. His friends and family have spent the last year trying to come to terms with his tragic loss from complications arising from acute pancreatitis. Your public assertion that David’s illness might in some way be connected to his sexuality and lifestyle was not only unsupported by any evidence, but was, I fear, unworthy of your position as a leader in the Church.”

Mr Harris added: “I hope you will revisit your words and honestly reappraise them in the light of the unjustified distress they will have caused.”

A spokesman for Bishop Tartaglia said: “Responding to a question from an audience member, Bishop Tartaglia agreed that the health risks of same sex behaviour were largely unreported. “He mentioned the premature death of a young high-profile gay MP in this context. There was no intention to cause offence and he regrets that anyone may have been upset.

“In the case of the MP concerned, his funeral was conducted in the Catholic Church and pastoral support offered to his family and friends.”

Bishop Tartaglia has been an outspoken critic of the Scottish Government’s plans to legalise same-sex marriage. On his appointment yesterday he expressed fears that he and other priests could face prosecution if such legislation goes ahead.

The archbishop-elect, who takes over from Archbishop Mario Conti in September, said: “If you defend the traditional marriage, that’s almost considered homophobic hate-speak.

“I could see myself going to jail, if, at some point in the next 15 years, I speak out.”

See original article here. It has links to the actual speech, and to related items.